When Abby Taffe played varsity girls hockey in Aberdeen, S.D., there were players as young as fourth grade on the team.
By: Eric Peterson, INFORUM
“It was hard learning stuff with such different capabilities because our coach had to spend a lot of time with the young kids,” Taffe said. “So we pretty much taught ourselves whatever we knew.”
Breann Julius, who is from Brookings, S.D., saw similar age differences when she was in high school and played for a club team.
While the programs they played for in high school were in the developmental stages, that didn’t prevented Taffe and Julius from developing into solid college hockey players for Concordia. Each has 11 points through eight games, tied for second on the team.
The Cobbers (6-1-1) are ranked No. 9 in this week’s USCHO.com NCAA Division III poll. For the first time in program history, the Cobbers have earned a top-10 national ranking.
A sophomore forward, Taffe ranks second on the Cobbers with six goals. Julius, also a sophomore forward, leads the team with seven goals.
“The fact that they came out of systems where they had fourth-graders on their varsity team, one, that says they are phenomenal athletes,” said Cobbers head coach Brett Bruininks. “And, two, they decided to play down to the level of their younger kids.”
Both Taffe and Julius went to numerous camps in the offseason to improve their games. Julius said she spent a few summers with her aunt in the Twin Cities area so she could take part in hockey camps.
Julius didn’t start to play against girls players until her freshman year. She played on boys teams prior to that. She said competing against boys “jump-started everything.”
Julius started her college career at D-I Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn. She spent two years in that program before transferring to Concordia prior to this season.
“I wasn’t getting the most playing time and I just really wanted to play,” Julius said.
Taffe came to Concordia directly from high school. She said Concordia and
St. Mary’s were the only schools she considered.
“When I came here my freshman year, they didn’t even know they had hockey in South Dakota,” Taffe said.
When Julius joined the Cobbers program this season, it was a reunion of sorts for Taffe and Julius.
They played against each other numerous times in high school. Their club teams – the Brookings Rangers and Aberdeen Cougars – played against each other at least three times per season, not counting tournaments.
“It got annoying because you knew exactly what the other person was going to do. … We were pretty big rivals,” Taffe said with a laugh.
“If she was on the ice, I had to be on the ice and vice versa,” Julius added.
“And we never left the ice the entire game,” Taffe said. “It’s nice having her on my team now.”
Readers can reach Forum reporter
Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513.
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